Owners of the Hammock Shops in Pawleys Island told their tenants Thursday that a proposal to sell the retail complex to the Burroughs and Chapin Co. of Myrtle Beach has been withdrawn.

Hammock Shops co-owner Jim Warwick said representatives of Burroughs and Chapin, a real estate investment company, said the return on investment did not meet company objectives.

Warwick said Hammock Shop owners had been negotiating with Burroughs and Chapin since February over the landmark property on Highway 17. He felt there were other factors at play, including the proposal by the state Department of Transportation to limit left turns by a raised median between lanes of the highway.

Hammock Shops traffic is presently allowed to enter and exit the highway along most of the length of the property. The new traffic pattern provides one median cut to allow access for southbound traffic. All exiting traffic will have to go north.

Warwick said he and his wife, Diane, will continue to seek a buyer for the property so they can retire. They and their partners bought a partial interest in the property in 2000 from a group in Charleston.

The Hammock Shops, home of the original Pawleys Island Rope Hammock since the early 1930s, is home to 22 stores and restaurants on 8 acres. It was founded by the Lachicotte family on the island and moved to the highway in 1938.

Burroughs and Chapin, headquartered in Myrtle Beach, has been a family-owned company for more than 100 years. It is one of South Carolina’s largest private landowners and a developer of resort, commercial, sports, entertainment and recreational properties, including Grand Dunes, Broadway at the Beach and Coastal Grand Mall.